Snapshots: A Lifetime
by LibbyLou22
Summary: Snapshots into the relationship between Elizabeth and Henry starting with their first meeting at UVA. This will look at various points in their relationship including their breakup and subsequent engagement, and deployment.
1. First Meeting

Hello, this is my first time writing in this area. This is a brief Snapshot into Henry and Elizabeth's young lives. I have done the math and for Elizabeth to join the CIA and be in it for 20 years then leave in 2008 when the show implied she left means she had to have been somehow involved in college. If the two married in 1990 Elizabeth was only 22 or 24. My thought is that they have a whirlwind romance when Elizabeth was 21 meaning the two likely married just weeks or months before he deployed. This will be snapshots into their lives at different points in their relationship in no particular order. This one is about their first interaction.

Let me know what you think and leave any ideas for snapshots in your reviews.

~~~ Snapshots ~~~

Elizabeth Adams loved school. Between college credit courses at boarding school and the summer courses, she had taken during undergraduate she had managed to graduate two years early. Last year she started graduate school on her way to a masters in political science and hopefully a Ph.D., this year she had added a Middle Eastern Politics concentration as tensions in the middle east had escalated. She pulled open the door to the lecture hall and slipped into a seat in the front row prepared for her first course on Middle Eastern Religious conflict.

Henry McCord was running late. He had just returned from Marine Training only hours prior. He had spent his entire summer running drills and constantly sweating in the California Sun. His flight back to Virginia was delayed twice leaving him only an hour to shower and get to campus. His car, having not been started all summer refused to start leaving him to catch the bus. He slipped in the door to class as the clock struck 11.

Elizabeth watched as students flooded in and sat down all around her. The rush had died down when a tall brunet rushed in behind the professor. The brunet looked flushed as he passed her and headed to an empty seat on the other side of the first row. She was captivated by his chiseled physic. Realizing she was staring at him, she averted her eyes to focus on the professor.

As the course droned on Elizabeth forgot about the man a few seats down, captivated by the information the professor was providing. As class ended her attention was brought back to the handsome man who like her had been taking notes feverishly.

The professor was wrapping up, assigning several hundred pages of reading and a paper, reminding his students they are not in undergrad anymore. "Class dismissed, Mr. McCord can I see you after class?" The religion professor requested.

Henry stood up and nodded, and Lizzie was thrilled to put a name with the face as she slipped out of class.

~~~ Snapshots ~~~

The library was quiet at UVA. The first week was always a cakewalk for undergraduates and Elizabeth was not surprised to see only a few people, likely graduate students present in the common room. She slipped down the stairs to the basement where she knew no one would be, she set her stuff down at a table in the corner and pulled out her books and a small personal pizza. Elizabeth was not often a rule breaker, but she found the no food rule in the library to be ridiculous. How was she expected to get anything done if she had to leave the building whenever she needed to eat?

Only 30 minutes had passed when a voice startled her out of her reading. "There's no food allowed in here."

Elizabeth jumped and looked up finding the handsome man, Henry McCord, from class standing before her. She paused noticing he was wearing a polo from the library and realized suddenly that she had been caught by a student librarian. "I do not have any food."

Henry's eyes sparkled as he pointed to the pizza box, "I see a pizza box right there!"

Elizabeth smiled and opened the box, "No you do not." She slid the box towards him.

Henry laughed momentarily. "Are you trying to bribe me?" He smiled as he looked at the captivating blond with blue eyes which nearly pierced his soul.

Elizabeth smiled, "Yes. Its sausage and pepperoni."

Henry smiled, "Well, in that case, I suppose we can overlook this." He pulled a piece out of the box and sat down. "I am Henry McCord."

Elizabeth smiled, "Lizzie Adams." She shook his hand surprised by the electric spark that seemed to hit the two of them when their hands touched.

"Is Lizzie your given name?" Henry asked.

Elizabeth paused, her parents had called her Elizabeth, and after their death and her move to boarding school she had reinvented herself. Lizzie Adams was fun, sarcastic, studious, and nothing at all like the broken, depressed Elizabeth her parents had left in the wake of their death. "No my full name is Elizabeth; I just prefer Lizzie."

Henry saw briefly a change in her as she said Elizabeth. He saw someone hurt, but also someone wonderful. "I really like the name Elizabeth, would you mind if I call you that? It's a beautiful name for a beautiful woman."

Elizabeth blushed, his charm throwing her off. She found herself nodding. "Sure." She smiled, "I saw you in my middle eastern religion class."

Henry looked surprised, "Are you a masters student?"

"Yes, I'm in my last year. I think I am going to go on and get my Ph.D. in political science."

"Wow, I am in my last year too. Religious studies." Henry looked at her; she looked so young.

Elizabeth smiled knowing his question. "I graduated two years early from undergrad, thanks to a combination of summer classes and transfer credit from boarding school."

Henry nodded, blown away by the grace, beauty, and brains of this woman before him. "Wow, that is impressive." Impressive. That was indeed what she was. She was everything he ever imagined her, the woman he would marry, to be.

Elizabeth looked at him, "Religious scholar, so what do you plan to do with that? You are not going to be a priest are you?"

"No. I might teach, but I will be in the middle east for the foreseeable future. I deploy after graduation this year. I have got four years in the Marines before I need to decide what to do with my life. What about you."

She grinned thankful that priesthood was not on the table and finding him somehow hotter imagining him in uniform. "Wow, impressive. I have been recruited as an analyst for the government. I've spent the last few years perfecting my language and political skills to better serve them. I start after graduation. I might commute back here and get my Ph.D. part-time or I might transfer someplace closer to DC."

Henry grinned, her eyes were so blue, "An analyst, like for the CIA?"

She nodded knowing she was not supposed to just tell anyone what she would be doing she knew it needed to be a vague answer. However, she also knew he was not just anyone. "It is a possibility." She winked.

Henry smiled. "So Elizabeth, can I take you out some time for non-rule breaking pizza?"

Elizabeth's heart skipped a beat. The way he said her name made her smile. No one called her Elizabeth, but she was thankful that he was. It sounded so different when he said it. "Yes. That would be wonderful. I love pizza."

Henry chuckled, "I can tell." He gestured to the pizza box on the table.

Elizabeth laughed and smiled at Henry. Their short interaction had made her feel more like herself, like Elizabeth, not Lizzie, than she had since before her parents died. Somehow she felt whole. Moreover, it was in that moment she knew she would marry Henry McCord.


	2. First Date

This was supposed to be the proposal chapter but it got away from me and while I have written a proposal chapter I need input on their relationship timeline from some more experienced writers. See the bottom authors note for more details.

Here's the next chapter! Thanks for all your kind reviews!

Elizabeth could hardly sit still. Her first date with Henry was in two hours. But for the sake of her roommates she tried to sit still and focus on their card game. Her best friend Amy, was winning as per usual and their roommate Becky was complaining about boys.

Elizabeth and Amy had been roommates since Sophomore Year and for graduate school, they had chosen to get a small apartment off campus. But the apartment this year had gotten a little crowded with the arrival of Amy's cousin Becky. A UVA junior who had moved in only days before the semester started when her boyfriend broke up with her and kicked her out. Amy, unable to tell anyone no had offered to share her room with Becky. And the small two bedrooms one-bathroom apartment was suddenly overcrowded.

Time passed slowly, but it was finally time for her to leave. She had refused to let Henry pick her up, insisting that she would meet him at the restaurant. She knew that going out with a boy only weeks after Becky's tragic breakup would only insight more tears, and she could not handle that right now. "Hey guys I gotta go, I have a study group for this middle eastern religion class." Elizabeth stood up and grabbed her bag from the kitchen table.

Amy smiled, "Oh Lizzie before you leave that lipstick I said you needed to try, I left it on my dresser. Don't forget about it." She winked.

Becky squealed, "Oh yes! You can wear it to the Pride and Prejudice Ball on Friday."

Elizabeth faked a smile. "Perfect!" She ran down the hallway and grabbed the lipstick thankful for Amy's discretion.

Twenty minutes later she was at the restaurant sitting across from a very nervous Henry. "This place has the best breadsticks." He commented as he split the last one in half and handed her one end.

Elizabeth smiled gratefully and took the breadstick. "I think it's the cheese that makes it."

Henry nodded, "I can agree with you there. So what made you chose UVA?"

Elizabeth smiled softly, "My parents went here. What about you?" She was quick to counter with a question, hoping to avoid the whole, dead parents thing on the first date.

Henry smiled and chuckled a bit, "It was far enough from home and they gave me a scholarship for ROTC. I wasn't going to be able to go any other way. My parents hated the idea of college so I chose this place sight unseen. Didn't know what the campus looked like until move-in day."

Elizabeth's eyes went wide. "Wow. You must have really liked that brochure."

Henry laughed. "I did. I kept it under my pillow so my dad wouldn't find it. The only thing worse than going to college was studying religion."

Elizabeth's face wrinkled, "Really? Not the religious type?"

Henry shook his head, "Well my mom's pretty catholic and so were his parents so he is Catholic by obligation. But when I started here I was considering being a priest and that to him was just impractical. He thought if I was going to get a degree it should be a practical one like engineering." Henry's brain froze, why had he brought up the Priest thing?

"A priest?" Her eyes twinkled but her brain was wondering what she was doing on a date with a future priest.

Henry smiled nervously, "I liked religion, but all I knew was my own. By my second semester here I had learned so much about other faiths that Priesthood didn't seem like an option. My professor opened the door to being a scholar, a professor, once he got to know me a bit. My parents aren't pleased."

Elizabeth laughed, "I think being a professor would be wonderful. I've really enjoyed my work as a TA."

Henry smiled, he loved her laugh. "So you love the idea of teaching but you are gonna go work for the government as a spy? These are two very different interests Ms. Addams."

She looked at him, god he was cute. "I never said I was going to be a spy. Analyst. Its totally different."

Henry looked amused, "How so."

"If I told you then I'd have to kill you." She winked and the two burst out laughing.

An hour later they had covered a variety of topics including roommates, several embarrassing drunk stories, and Henry's family. As he wrapped up a story about his brother crashing his mom's car he looked at her and realized she hadn't mentioned her family. "So what about your family? You have any siblings?"

Elizabeth's face changed, "I have a brother Will. He's two years younger than me. Says he wants to be a doctor, a surgeon. He spent this past summer in Haiti with a group providing vaccines to orphans."

Henry smiled, "Your parents must be proud."

Elizabeth looked away briefly before looking back at him and continuing. "My parents died when I was fourteen. Car accident."

Henry's face fell. "I'm so sorry. We can change the subject I didn't know. I'm' so sorry." He stuttered.

She put a hand on his, "It's okay. My parents where wonderful. They met here on campus. My mom was a French exchange student and my dad was studying to be a doctor. Before Will and I were born they traveled the world providing medical care to impoverished countries. But they settled here just about 45 minutes from here on my dad's family farm. We spoke English and French growing up. After they were killed my grandmother sent us to boarding school, she was old and frail and couldn't take care of us. But I think boarding school was really good for me. It really honed my love of languages. I learned German there and a friend of mine taught me Arabic." She smiled slightly.

Henry looked at her sadly, "They sound wonderful." He looked at her. "So you are a farm girl? Like pigs and stuff?"

Elizabeth smiled slightly, "No, just fields of hay and horses. My grandma had chickens but I hated them so I didn't keep them when she died."

Henry studied her trying to see if she was ok, "So you still have the farm?"

Elizabeth smiled, "Yea, it's been in my family for over 100 years. I have two horses and a guy, Phil who lives there and takes care of the place."

Henry smiled. Just as he was ready to ask another question the restaurant shut some lights off in one corner. He looked at his watch, "Oh my gosh its 11 PM. They must be closing."

Elizabeth looked around and realized the restaurant was empty. "Oh my gosh they are!" The two stood up and Henry left a tip on the table. He held the door for her as they strode out in to the cool night air.

As they approached their cars, Henry looked at the beautiful blond before him. "So can I take you out Friday? There's a concert in the park, might be fun."

Elizabeth smiled, "I have to go to a Pride and Prejudice Ball. My roommate is throwing it and it is part of an upper level English class assignment."

Henry looked disappointed.

Elizabeth looked at him as she opened her door. "Some other time?"

Henry faked a smile. "Sure!"

Disappointed didn't even begun to describe his feelings as she drove away. But he vowed to get that second date with her. And another after that.

So originally I had something else very different in mind. I was going to do their proposal because these snapshots won't go in any particular order. But then I wanted some thoughts before I finished writing it. Please leave a review or PM me with any insight.

My thought is that Henry and Elizabeth got married really fast, it was something Elizabeth said in season 2. I can't remember what it was. But she was big on there being steps (when Stevie got engaged), she never said anything about years and time she said steps. And with Henry being in the Marines it put them on a timeline. So I am wondering if you think they would have gotten married after being together about a year?

I want this to be as realistic to their characters as possible.

Proposal chapter to follow.


	3. Mar Me Elibet

Hello, I want to thank everyone for their help and input. I haven't finished watching the series yet. I started with season 4 when it was last on tv and have sense been working my way through the show but I only last night watched the episode about Elizabeth's brother moving to DC. Now I feel a bit silly for my previous chapter talking about Elizabeth's mother being French. But I suppose fan fiction is for the imagination.

After talking with several people I was still torn between them getting engaged at a year or waiting longer. I think it could have happened either way. But since the two of them are meeting in grad school and Henry is leaving I settled on them having a rushed engagement. I was determined to write the skywriter proposal. It was so hard because normally it's not in Henry's character. However I think here, trying to make up for everything he said, it might make a bit of sense. It was thrown together quickly because like they say in the show it was 3 or 5 days.

Please let me know what you think.

Elizabeth cringed as her friend Amy shoved another bobby pin in her hair. "Amy I am going to be late can you stop with the hair? It looks great."

Amy rolled her eyes. "You are fine. Henry will wait for you."

Elizabeth inwardly groaned. If she had gotten ready at her and Henry's apartment she would have left her hair as is and wouldn't be late. But Amy had begged her to come over and she couldn't say no. She had moved in with Henry when he had been hurt in an accident and the two had decided it was working and they ended up living together permanently leaving her former roommate a bit lonely and stuck with her other former roommate Becky. "I gotta go."

"What about your makeup." Amy pleaded.

Elizabeth froze then shoved the bag in her purse. "I'll see you at graduation in two hours. I gotta go meet Henry."

And that is how she found herself putting markup on the buss ten minutes later trying to make up for lost time. She stepped off the bus on to campus and was shocked to see all the undergrads who had graduated a few hours earlier still milling about. She made her way to the library, where she and Henry always met on campus, it was unsurprisingly empty seeing as it was graduation. She made her way downstairs to where she knew her boyfriend was waiting for her.

As soon as she saw his face she knew something was wrong. "Henry, what is it?"

Henry look startled, he looked up at his gorgeous girlfriend and was frozen for a moment in her beauty before he handed her a letter. "I got my orders early. I am leaving for Germany at the end of the month."

Elizabeth froze and mechanically reached out to grab the letter, "How long?"

"Four years. It's my base assignment. I'll probably deploy once or twice within those four years. I am so sorry Elizabeth, I didn't want to ruin graduation but I think you deserve to know what's going on."

Elizabeth took his hand. "Four years."

Henry looked at her face. "I can't ask you to wait for me. It's not fair to you."

Elizabeth looked shocked as she processed what he was saying. "Are you breaking up with me?"

He shook his head, "No, no. I am just offering you a way out. It's not fair to you. I feel horrible leaving you here, but you can't come with me. You don't deserve this."

Elizabeth wiped away a tear. "I can come with you it's a family military base."

Henry shook his head, "I can't ask you to come with me, that would mean getting married. You'd sacrifice your spot in the PHD program. You are supposed to start at the CIA in September. You can't give up everything for me."

Elizabeth shook her head, "I am offering. I love you. You are my world and I don't need a PHD right now. I can get one later. We can get married, spend some time in Germany. I speak German so I'd be right at home. We would have housing, health insurance. I can get a job as a translator. I could even take some classes there. And we would be together!"

Henry looked at her seriously, "No."

Elizabeth felt the floor fall out from under her.

"You can't abandon school and work for me. You gave the CIA your word. You can't burn bridges like that. You wouldn't be you if you abandon everything for me. I can't let you do that. You'd risk your entire future!" Henry looked at her crushed face and looked away.

"Henry- you are my future. I don't care about anything else." She looked at him wiping away a tear, "We are living together. This isn't some trivial relationship."

Henry shook his head. "It's not a trivial relationship, but I also know that I could destroy you. You wouldn't be the love of my life if you gave everything up. School means the world to you. We've been together 10 months. We live together. I love you. But I can't ask you to make this kind of sacrifice. The fact that you even offered is concerning to me. I can't be the reason you change yourself." He Looked at her and looked away. "What If I get deployed and die. I can't leave you a 22-year-old widow. We need to stop this before it goes any further."

Elizabeth wiped away tears, trying to come up with something, anything to say. But she couldn't believe what was happening.

"You need to move on. I can't let you sacrifice yourself for me. It wouldn't be right." And with that Henry wiped away a tear and walked away leaving Elizabeth to crumble on the floor.

Devastated didn't even begun to describe how she felt. An hour later she pulled herself together went back to her apartment and filled her car with her stuff. She left her key and a goodbye note. She couldn't believe that Henry McCord the man who had made her feel whole, happy, had broken her.

Henry had screwed up. He knew it three days ago at graduation when he sat alone. HE was reminded of it when he returned home to an empty closet and a goodbye note. She was gone. They had broken up. He spent the next few days sulking, depressed and sad. He knew he had screwed up but he didn't know if he could fix it or if he should. He was leaving for 4 years. He couldn't do that to her. But being without her was miserable. The third day he had no plans to get out of bed. But her pillow smelled like her and it got him thinking.

An hour later he was on the phone with his buddy who gave him a great discount on a skywriter. He left the house with purpose and returned an hour later with a diamond ring in his pocket and a hole in his bank account.

He knew Elizabeth was predictable. He knew she would be running in the park in only a half hour. And he awaited nervously until it was time to go. He was going to win her back.

The past three days Elizabeth had extended her runs. She showed up early and stayed late. She didn't have anything else to do. She was well in to her third mile when she heard a plane overhead. She looked up and saw the words. "Mar Me Elibet" Confused she stopped to get a better look.

Henry walked up behind her. "So will you?"

Elizabeth jumped and turned around. "Henry? What?"

"Marry me?" He searched her blue eyes for an answer. "I panicked in the library. The truth is, I am so scared, scared to leave, scared I might die, or change and you won't love me anymore. But Elizabeth, these past few days I have been absolutely miserable. Knowing I hurt you, knowing that my own fears had hurt you…" He paused, "I do want to marry you, I've wanted to since the moment we met. We've had discussions about the future and I know we never settled on a plan because we thought I wasn't leaving this soon and I know this won't be easy, but I want to face every struggle beside you even if we can't be on the same continent. I want to have forever with you." The last few sentences where stung together quickly as he nervously spit them out.

Elizabeth smiled teary eyed, "Henry-"

Henry cut her off, "Hold on I have stipulations,"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, "This is a marriage proposal and you have stipulations?"

Henry smiled his eyes twinkling, "Yes."

Elizabeth's blue eyes were bright with tears but her face was lit with a huge smile. "Do you have these written down or is this a verbal thing?"

Henry rolled his eyes, "You stay here and go to school and join the CIA as planned. I am going to be deployed anyway here soon so you following me to Germany leaves you a military housewife and that's not you. We will do visits when we can, and phone calls and letters always."

"Can I make my own stipulations?" Elizabeth asked.

He nodded and she continued, "I get to go with you-" She noticed his face crinkle, "for the summer. My courses don't start till August and I can't take my polygraph with the CIA until I turn 23. Let me come with you, get settled into a house or apartment in Germany. Then in August I'll come back here and get a little apartment or stay at the farm."

Henry nodded. That would mean we'd need to get married soon we'd need time to process the paperwork with the base to get us a place to stay."

Elizabeth smiled, "The sooner the better."

Henry looked at her and smiled, "Is that a yes?" Her quick move to kiss him confirmed her agreement. After a few moments, Henry realized that the engagement ring was still in a box in his pocket. "Do you want the ring?" He whispered in her ear after standing up to hug her.

Elizabeth pulled away surprised, "There's a ring?"

Henry laughed reaching in to his pocket. "Of course there's a ring! You think I'd higher a discount skywriter and not by a ring. There's a reason the guy can't spell. It's because I spent all my savings on this." He opened the box and Elizabeth gasped.

"Oh my gosh its beautiful." She looked at the silver diamond engagement ring and then back at her fiancé. And as he slipped it on her finger, both their fingers shook aware of the commitment they had made to one another.

Thanks for reading.  
Next up will be one of the following (Ideas and opinions for these welcome) I have no idea wich one to write first:

Meeting the parents

Henry's Car Accident (Moving in together)

Their wedding

Germany

First Kiss


	4. Alive

They had only been dating a short while. But to Henry it seemed as it had been forever. On their third date she had taken him to meet her horses and he had asked her to "go steady". The nervous awkward words had come out in a tumble before he realized they came from the wrong decade, and that the third date was probably to early. But the way she had laughed, her blond hair falling over her shoulders and her blue eyes sparking when she said yes had made the awkwardness worth it.

A month later after a night at the bars she had found a book in his apartment about math. His efforts to learn more about her passion had resulted in a drunken but meaningful I love you from Elizabeth that surprised both of them. But he knew he loved her and so the next morning as he cared for his hungover girlfriend he told her that.

Since then they had fallen in to a great rhythm. They spent every day together, eating studying, and everything else college students did. She nearly lived with him, her crowded apartment and crazy roommates made studying difficult but Henry had created a study in his second bedroom that Elizabeth adored.

Henry unlocked the door to his apartment and smelled something terrible. "Elizabeth?"

She appeared from the kitchen with a guilty look on her face and smoke waffling behind her. "I was trying to surprise you with dinner. To celibrate the end of midterms."

Henry laughed, "Did you burn it?"

Elizabeth frowned, "I spilled watter on the stovetop. I never even really got started."

He laughed, pulling her in to his arms and kissing her. "We can go out."

Elizabeth smiled kissing him back, "Sorry, I suck at cooking. How was your midterm?"

Henry shrugged, "Pretty easy. Just two essay questions. Filled 4 blue books though."

Elizabeth smiled, "That's good! My undergrad students don't even know what blue books are." She laughed as she thought of the freshman class she was teaching as a part of her assistantship.

"So dinner?" Henry asked as he set his book bag on the couch, "Where do you want to go?"

Elizabeth's eyes lit up at the prospect of food. "Can we go to that one place? The really good one with the spring rolls across town?"

Henry smiled, "Only if we can get ice-cream afterwards."

She kissed him suddenly, before moving to grab her ass. "I love you."

"Can we take your car? It's raining and I need new tires." Henry said as he closed the door and locked it behind them.

Elizabeth tossed him the keys. "Sure. Can you drive? I had a glass of wine when I was trying to make dinner."

Henry frowned, "Perhaps drinking and cooking shouldn't occur together." He looked at her mock offended face. "Or just the cooking. That probably should never happen."

"The water slipped!" Elizabeth defended.

Henry laughed as he unlocked her car. "Whatever you need to tell yourself to sleep at night."

They had only been in the car for about ten minutes when it began to rain hard. Henry flipped the wipers on and put two hands on the wheel. The light turned green and he accelerated but the car on the cross street didn't stop when it's light turned red. Elizabeth saw it briefly out of the corner of her eye but felt the impact before she could say anything.

"Miss, Can you hear me?" A loud voice asked shining a light in her face.

Elizabeth opened her eyes and suddenly all the events returned, "I'm fine." She said looking at first responders. She looked around, she was still in the car Henry was next to her and red and blue lights flashed everywhere. She tried to get out but was restricted by a seat belt.

"Miss. Just sit for a minute. Can you tell me your name?" The paramedic asked.

"Elizabeth. Is Henry ok?" She looked over at Henry who wasn't moving as pararamedics worked to move him to a stretcher.

"Elizabeth, I need you to look at me." A paramedic said.

She whipped her head around fast, "I'm fine. What's wrong with Henry? Is he ok?"

"Elizabeth we need to check you out. Can you get out of the car on your own?"

Elizabeth unbuckled and climbed out holding the car for support. "He's not talking. Is he ok?" she glared at the paramedic, "I'm fine."

The paramedic looked at her panicked face, "Head wound, possible head injury and internal bleeding, we are transporting him to the hospital. Is he your boyfriend?"

Elizabeth nodded craning her head to see him as they loaded him in the ambulance. "Can I go?"

The paramedic looked at her, "to the hospital?"

Elizabeth wiped away tears, "Please?"

The paramedic looked at her sympathetically, "Will you get checked out when you get there?"

Elizabeth nodded, "Please. I don't want him to be alone."

The paramedic nodded. "Sure. Grab your bag out of the car and let's go. The police will have questions for the accident report when you get there." The paramedic, Marry, took Elizabeth's arm and guided her to the ambulance.

The ride to the hospital was terrifying for Elizabeth. She thought she'd feel better when she got to the hospital and he was in the hands of doctors, but they rolled Henry away and left her in the waiting room. A nurse came and checked her out, and declared her ok. The police questioned her. And then one of them asked if she had called his parents. His parents. The ones she had never met. Patrick and Amy McCord. "I don't have their number" She had stuttered. The officers provided her the number and offered to make the call but she brushed them off.

20 minutes later at a payphone she was waiting for someone to pick up. A young girl, probably his sister answered, "hello?"

Elizabeth froze, "I, I, I'm looking for Mr. or Mrs. McCord."

"Can I ask who's calling?" The girl on the other end asked.

"Elizabeth Adams" She paused, "Henry's girlfriend."

"Oh my gosh! I've heard so much about you from Henry! I'm so exited to finally talk to you. I've been waiting for Henry to bring you home. I'm Erin"

"Erin, there's been an accident. I need to talk to your parents."

She delivered the news to Patrick thankful he was brief in his questioning before vowing to be there soon.

The doctors wouldn't give her any information because she wasn't family. For the next five hours her brain went to some weird places. She cried in the bathroom four times, wondering if he was dead, if it was her fault. She should have never gotten involved with him. Her heart was broken. It was her parents all over again.

His parents arrived in a loud group and Elizabeth was thankful they were easy to identify. "Elizabeth?" His mother called out. She didn't wait for confirmation, pulling her in to a big hug.

"Mrs. McCord, they won't tell me if he's OK." She whispered.

Amy wiped away a tear from Elizabeth's face. "Let's go find out?"

Twenty minutes later the McCord's plus Elizabeth where gathered in a room with two doctors. After Elizabeth heard the words He'll be fine, her brain stopped processing the rest of the words. She smiled slightly as she looked at the joyous faces on Henry's family. Amy grabbed her arm as everyone stood up and the doctor lead them to Henry's room.

He was awake when they stepped in the room and didn't look as bad as Elizabeth had imagined he might. Forgetting that she was with his family whom she hadn't met until a half hour ago she moved to his side crying softly as she sat down in the chair laying her head on the bed where he stroked her hair. She had had wondered briefly if everyone she loved was destin to die. But he was OK. Alive.

A concussion broken ribs and some internal bleeding but no worse for the wear. She had known she had loved him for a while. But in that moment she was 100% sure that she really would spend the rest of her life with him.

The accident had turned out to be a blessing. Elizabeth and Amy had become quite close in the days following the accident, and Elizabeth had temporarily moved in with Henry to take care of him. Not that he couldn't order takeout himself. She never moved out.


	5. Home

The wedding being as small as it was, came together within the week, three days to be exact. Elizabeth had always dreamed of getting married on the farm out by the lake as her parents had done. She got her mother's dress from the farm and found a seamstress to alter it. Removing the long sleeves and high collar to make it more suitable to the May weather. It wouldn't be a fashionable dress for the time, but she had never been a fan of puffy sleeves or skirts. It was timeless, made of a delicate lace and soft silk. Form compared to the dresses in the shops but it was incredibly flattering to her tall figure. Caterers would make a post-wedding lunch and she hoped everyone invited would be gone by dinner time.

They would spend their "honeymoon" at the farm. And she would likely live there when she returned from Germany so she was spending her last day as a single woman packing their apartment near the UVA Campus. Henry had already left with the heavy stuff filling his car with books and his friend Tom's truck with furniture that Elizabeth had deemed worth keeping. The rest had been donated. She huffed as she shoved the last box into her car. It was sad leaving this apartment. So many wonderful moments had occurred within the sanctity of the place they had called home. But deep down she knew life held more exciting things in the future and that they would have many places to call home. It would not matter where they were as long as they were together.

She met Henry, Tom and her childhood best friend Nora at the farm later that night where they crammed much of the leftover furniture and boxes into the garage for temporary storage. The military would move it to Germany for them so long as it was properly marked. Elizabeth made a mental note to ask of moving arrangement logistics when they traveled to the military base to fill out paperwork later in the week. In true Elizabeth Adams fashion, she had each day planned out. They had a lot to do in a short amount of time. _"Elizabeth Adams for only one day more."_ She thought.

The idea of changing her name had always seemed strange to Elizabeth. But then again before she met Henry so had the idea of marriage and love. The name Adams held a lot of pain, a lot of joy but still a lot of pain. It reminded her of her father. Every time a professor called her Ms. Adams it reminded her of her first boarding school, where she had been struggling with depression. The name McCord made her think of Henry. Mrs. McCord made her think of her future mother in law a woman that Elizabeth adored. So she was choosing to take Adams as a middle name, and McCord as her last name. This way she would have her parents name with her always but would still have the same last name as her husband and future children.

There were two master bedrooms in the old farmhouse. One upstairs and one downstairs. Her parents had always been in the downstairs room, her father claimed it was so he could hear the horses when they foaled. She never liked to go in their room even still. But that night after dinner she crept into the room, where Nora had hung her wedding dress to keep from Henry. She was in search of her father's pocket watch to carry with her when she walked down the aisle. She and Will had always been fascinated by it as children and her father had always kept it locked away with her mother's jewelry. She fished the key out of the desk drawer and turned the lock on the box revealing the gold watch and a few pairs of precious jewelry items from her mother. The gold watch was all she wanted. She couldn't bring herself to touch her mother's jewelry. She had lost an earring once playing dress up, and her mother had cried. Even now as an adult the idea of wearing her mothers jewley seemed wrong. But the watch, her father would show her whenever she asked. Her mother had given it to her father when they had gotten married and it was inscribed with their wedding date. Knowing that it was there she secured it back in the box and slipped out of the room with one last glimpse at the dress. Tomorrow she would be a wife.

The morning came quickly once the bride and groom found sleep. Henry and Tom having slept at Elizabeth's late grandmother's cottage down the lane hadn't slept well on the lumpy mattresses in the stuffy old house. Henry showered and nervously pushed around the eggs on his plate until his family arrived. His parents, grandparents from both sides, and all his siblings poured into the house quickly overwhelming Henry but making him glad for the distraction. His father made snide comments about the hurried affair, his impending deployment, and of course the fact that Elizabeth owned a vast amount of land with not one but two homes on it. However, he put it out of his mind. It was his wedding day and no one could tamper with the joy he felt.

Elizabeth's hands were shaking as she stepped into the wedding dress. Her life was changing very drastically in a very short amount of time. In less than an hour she'd be married, in a few weeks she'd be in Germany, in a few months she'd be back here without her husband, starting a new job and a PHD program. Nora, her maid of honor finished the buttons and stepped back.

"You look gorgeous." She gushed. "I can't believe my best friend is getting married! 15 years ago you were making pie out of horse poop and now look at you."

Elizabeth laughed and the two hugged. "Stop before you ruin all your hard work" She said referring to the makeup that Nora had put on herself and Elizabeth.

Amy, Elizabeths soon to be mother in law smiled and wiped away tears. "You are beautiful. You are a lovely bride."

Elizabeth turned to and smiled. "It is my mother's dress."

Amy pulled her into a hug. "Your mother would be so very proud of you. You are an amazing young woman and that's a testament to your mother and father's hard work. Now promise not to cry because I doubt Nora wants to redo your mascara but I have something for you. In the McCord family everyone borrows this necklace as their borrowed and blue on their wedding day my mother in law lent it to me on my wedding day." She said pulling out a box to reveal a sapphire necklace.

Elizabeth did cry, hugging Amy again. "I love you." She whispered. It was the first time she had said that to anyone besides Henry, Will or her parents. But she meant it. This woman would be there for her whenever she needed motherly advice, and while she couldn't replace her mom. Amy was someone, someone who cared, someone who she loved and who loved her.

Will chose that moment to peak his head in and badger his sister for being late to her own wedding. She grinned, having had a "moment" with Will earlier in the day, he was over the tears and ready for the after party.

"5 minutes!" Nora called setting to work on fixing Elizabeth's makeup.

Five minutes later Elizabeth started the walk, alone to her future. She clutched the flowers and her father's watch with both hands. She had opted to make the walk alone. Party because being given away was a sexist tradition she had no interest in, but mostly because she didn't want her dad, dead or not, to feel replaced. However, she knew it was the last walk she would make alone because from this day on, every walk would be made with Henry at her side. She looked forward to the partnership that awaited her. The love and the laughter.

She met a teary-eyed Henry under a floral arch and promised him the world. He did the same. Two cold silver bands found their homes. And the couple knew they had found their home. It didn't matter where they went or where they lived, home was wherever the two of them could be together.

 **Thank you all for your kind reviews! They keep me writing!**


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